CIPD - Employment Minister praises hundreds of HR professionals volunteering to help young jobseekers find work
28 Mar 2014 11:12 AM
Employment Minister Esther McVey has congratulated the
CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, and Jobcentre Plus
on the England-wide expansion of a free mentoring programme to help young
jobseekers. The Steps Ahead Mentoring programme has been launched by the CIPD
to provide young jobseekers with free one-to-one mentoring from a HR
professional. Referred by Jobcentre Plus, young people (aged 18-24) are given
the opportunity to be matched with a local volunteer who can help them develop
their employability skills.
Across England over 1,500 CIPD volunteers have already
helped hundreds of young jobseekers into work via the programme. Steps Ahead
Mentoring offers young people, most of whom have never worked before, six
mentoring sessions to help with a range of skills including CV writing,
interview techniques and job hunting.
Minister for Employment, Esther McVey,
said:“The number of young people in jobs is increasing and youth
unemployment has been falling now for the last six months, but there is always
more to do to ensure young people grow up knowing that they will have the
opportunity to have a fulfilling career.
“Role models and mentoring are vital in showing
young people the way forward so they can get their foot on the career ladder,
so it is great news that the CIPD and Jobcentre Plus are working together to
expand this scheme. I would like to thank all the volunteers involved for
giving up their time to help young people secure their
future.”
Also commenting, Katerina Rüdiger,
Head of Skills and Policy Campaigns at the CIPD, said: “Young
people are often at a disadvantage when it comes to finding a job. A key issue
is that many young people do not know what is expected of them during the
recruitment process. One way to bridge that gap is to encourage those working
in HR, who hold responsibility for the recruitment of new staff, to partner up
with young jobseekers to help enlighten them about what employers look
for. Via the Steps Ahead Mentoring programme CIPD members have already
helped hundreds of young jobseekers and we are keen to keep the momentum going
and get more people into work.”
Dr. Karen
Manby, a Steps Ahead
mentor in Manchester, added: “I am a strong believer in the
importance of work and care very much about helping young jobseekers in my
local area. Having the opportunity to support a mentee, work through new ideas
and watch their confidence grow was well worth the time invested. The
experience has opened my eyes to the challenges many young people face when
looking for work and I am proud to support the CIPD’s Steps Ahead
Mentoring programme.”
Any
young jobseekers keen to get themselves a mentor should speak to their local
Jobcentre Plus adviser to find out more. Any CIPD members who want to volunteer
to become a mentor can register via the CIPD website: www.cipd.co.uk/stepsaheadmentoring
Steps Ahead Mentoring is part of the
CIPD’s Learning to Work programme.
This is an action-focused programme led by the CIPD to promote the role of
employers and HR professionals in reducing youth unemployment. It falls within
the CIPD charity objective to champion better work and working
lives.
Read more here: www.cipd.co.uk/learningtowork